The 2026 professional rodeo season is coming down to the last few weeks, and athletes are pushing to earn as much cash as they can before time runs out. Barrel racer Kathy Grimes is taking advantage as she is on a late-season win streak that has put her at No. 11 in the world standings. 

World Record Pace

With $108,140 earned over 53 rodeos this season, Grimes is just $1,000 outside of the top ten right now. She’s closing in as the end of the season nears, pulling in major checks right as the timing gets crucial. 

Grimes is setting the standard in the arena right now, as her run at the Cassia County Fair and Rodeo in Burley, Idaho (August 22) set a new record on a WPRA standard pattern, crossing the finish line in just 16.31 seconds.

Her most recent win was at the Golden Spike Rodeo in Tremonton, Utah, August 26–29. She stopped the clock at an impressive 16.80 seconds for $6,860. She’s clearly gaining speed as the year continues, as she started off the month winning the first round of the Farm-City Pro Rodeo.

She earned another hefty check and a round win in Kennewick, Wash., at the Horse Heaven Roundup Rodeo. The home-state cowgirl won the first round with a 16.91-second run, pocketing $3,649, and finished second in the overall average for another $2,919.

Setting the Tone

Grimes has her eye on the prize and has all season, as she works to earn a qualification for the National Finals Rodeo (NFR) in December. She started the season off strong, winning the National Western Stock Show (NWSS) Qualifier, and went on to win the first round at the NWSS with a 14.91-second run, ultimately finishing second in the average.

She rode that momentum into the San Antonio Stock Show Rodeo, where she pulled in another round win with a run of 14.10 seconds, qualifying her for the semifinals. Grimes continued to find success, pulling in a win at the High Desert Stampede, where she banked a check for nearly $7,000. 

Much of Grimes' success this season has came aboard her home-raised gelding, KG Just Money, also known as “Showie.” The duo has taken the barrel racing world by storm since Showie's futurity year.

This pair will be a force to be reckoned with in the Thomas & Mack Arena if they can clinch their qualification in the coming days.